Rebecca Vallance On Her Venture Into Casual Wear And Hopes For The Future Of Fashion
The designer is celebrating the launch of Sportif, a pared-back extension to her eponymous label
- by
Grace Back
Look to any of the world's most prestigious events and you're sure to find one common denominator: a woman wearing a Rebecca Vallance creation. Whether it's Chrissy Teigen, Shay Mitchell, Halle Berry or homegrown tastemakers Jesinta Franklin and Terry Biviano, the world's most stylish women regularly look to the Australian founded label.
It's no surprise, either, with designs steeped in vibrant colours and elegant silhouettes - the kind of statement dresses and two-piece sets that pack a punch so big your thumb stops mid-scroll on Instagram.
Vallance's pieces are consistently distinct when looking to the collections that have spanned her eponymous label's nearly decade long journey. Defined by the elegance and glamour that her customers - whether here, or around the globe - exude in their everyday lives. But like many designers, Vallance's own aesthetic and needs for her wardrobe evolve with her - which is where the brand's latest extension into casual wear comes in.
The new Rebecca Vallance Sportif collection - which recently dropped alongside their brand new Double Bay store - marks a new offering from the local label, one that is not only fitting for the current world order, but one that ties in perfectly with life post-lockdown. And while it was a move the brand had been working on long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it couldn't have come at a better time.
"I always wanted to launch casual wear as part of the business," Vallance tells marie claire. "So I think being a mother with two young children, you can't wear a party dress when you're kicking a football, so I wanted to launch casual pieces and make sure that they were on brand and an extension of our woman's wardrobe."
The Sportif collection, filled with relaxed silhouettes like track pants, hoodies and sweatshirts, expertly melds the glamorous Vallance aesthetic, only with an athletic and pared-back sensibility, perfectly embodying the woman who has defined her brand for the past decade. "It's definitely the same woman, we're just outfitting her in different areas of her life," the designer says.
Minimalistic in its approach, each piece is made from organic cotton - "really comfy, but also understated", as Vallance describes - and feature the brand's signature subtle detailings that include ruched balloon sleeves and zipped pockets.
As with her cult blazers and trousers, the pieces were designed to blend in with what a customer already owns from her collections. "You can wear it back with blazers or mix and match it through the ready-to-wear collections."
Vallance herself wears the RV Logo Track Pants with her new season Starwood Blazer, perfectly combining the best of her two collections.
A La Votre Sweatshirt, $249; RV Logo Track Pants, $229
And as for what the future of the fashion industry holds, Vallance says: "I hope we keep evolving. I hope that people will continue to look after one another and I hope that it will survive."
marie claire is supporting #WeWearAustralian, helping to shine a light on the Australian fashion industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grace BackGrace is our Digital News and Entertainment Editor. When not stuck in a seemingly endless Instagram scroll, you'll find Grace with her head in a good book.
